The mind, it boggles: it seems women (at least, the 2,000 polled) consult their moms for honest shopping opinions.

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I'm not saying moms aren't honest. But I am saying that there are more than enough issues between most mothers and daughters to make up for that benefit. If I listened to my mom's advice, for instance, I'd still be wearing shoulder-padded blazers four sizes too big, and maybe a nice pair of top-siders. "Honesty" would not be the issue. But that's me.

Of course, there's context: the women polled by Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex preferred their mums to their chums — which I guess makes sense, since 1 in 20 of them admitted to actively sabotaging their own friends. Or, as Newslite puts it, they "admitted telling a friend they look great in something when they looked awful - because they didn't want them to look better than them." When not actively living down to negative female stereotypes, these women enjoy their mother's "brutal honesty."

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Honestly, after reading this, I'd be paranoid too — not to mention, shopping alone. But there's always the question: if these reports and stereotypes didn't exist, would people conform to them? If society didn't pit us against each other in an endless global catfight, would we know we were supposed to exist in a state of constant competition? Inquiring minds want to know.